Ade Adepitan MBE

Born in Lagos Nigeria and raised in East London, Ade survived polio as youngster. Contracting the virus at just 15 months old he began to lose the use of his legs, and at aged three his parents migrated with him to the UK. Ade went on to succeed as an international Paralympic wheelchair basketball player and renowned broadcaster.

Never one to hold back, Ade’s work has taken him across the globe; most recently to Kenya as part of the BBC’s Our Changing Planet, charting our worlds most threatened ecosystems. He also went undercover with C4’s Dispatches, reporting foreign affairs for Unreported World and fronting the ground-breaking BBC Two Series, Climate Change: Ade on the Frontline. Filmed during the pandemic, Ade meets the people and places around the globe who have been directly affected by climate change.

Ade is a well-respected co-host on Children in Need’s annual live appeal show. He has hosted countless sporting events including his BAFTA ward wining coverage of the 2012 Paralympics on C4 co-hosted with Clare Balding. An Olympics that changed the course of history for people’s attitudes towards disabled people, not just in sport.

In a personal documentary for C4, Ade Adepitan: Journey of my Lifetime, Ade returned to his birthplace Lagos to investigate Nigeria’s polio endemic. Picked up by the Sunday Times, Ade’s story left viewers inspired including support on Twitter from Bill Gates, who invited Ade to speak at the Global Vaccine Summit: We Changed History in 2020, when Nigeria officially declared the country free from wild poliovirus, becoming the last country in the continent of Africa to be polio free. A milestone that see’s Ade continue to work alongside the Global Polio Eradication Initiative to end poliovirus globally.

An exceptional public speaker and live host, Ade supports a plethora of charities including Amnesty International, Unicef and NSPCC and continues to deliver motivational speeches to schools, charities, and businesses around the world.

Ade’s personal sporting achievements include a Bronze in The Athens Paralympics, Silver in the European Championships and Gold in The World Championships. Ade received an MBE in 2005 and was awarded Honorary Doctorate from Loughborough University in 2006 and the University of East London in 2010.

Ade has released four children’s books all based on stories from his own childhood, as a Nigerian kid with a disability growing up in East London during the ‘80’s. His debut book series follows a superhero character called Cyborg Cat, and they call centre around the same messaging “We can all be superheroes, no matter who we are or where we’re from.” 100% of the proceeds from Ade’s second book were donated to Children in Need.

LionHeart – Rhael Cape

Born Rhael Cape, but known to many as LionHeart, he is an award winning Spoken Word Artist, raised in North West London.

LionHeart has appeared on the BBC to discuss poetry, performed for Sky1’s ‘What’s Up TV’, has supported Music Of Black Origins Winner Akala’s ‘Richard II’ Tour, in addition to performing for 1500+ executives in corporate shows, and numerous shows throughout the UK. With his incessant desire to be heard and amplify the voices of others, Lion Heart is destined for a great future, one that’ll impact the lives of those he interacts with.

His inspiring oratory talents have also gained recognition from the likes of Emeli Sande, Floacist (Floetry), The Voice and more, in addition to being commissioned by the British Library for Shakespeare’s 400th birthday, Gillette, leading pharmaceutical companies worldwide and Lloyds.

Aside from his life as a performer, LionHeart is also the Co-Founder of the UK’s most innovative social debate night, SubjectivityUK, which prides itself on ‘Making Room For Wider Conversation’ in London, Birmingham and New York City. Founded by LionHeart and Charles Rare ‘JustCharles’ in 2014, SubjectivityUK is a growing community of people who want to listen and be heard, providing a platform to represent those who may differ in perspective but can still be respected. It’s a place where individuals can not only find answers but provide questions that make people think differently. For social entrepreneurs LionHeart and JustCharles the overall aim is pioneering communication for the next generation, one city at a time.

Dr. Neslyn Watson-Druée CBE

Dr Neslyn Watson-Druée is one of the most accomplished authors in personal development and a renowned international speaker. As the Chairman of NHS Kingston, she managed to turn around a £21.5 M deficit in two years and finish with a £5M surplus. She was awarded the MBE for Nursing Leadership, and the CBE for Health Service Innovation.

Neslyn is currently rolling out 111 Global Leadership Academies through Neslyn.com. Her skills are further applied in executive coaching and consultancy in three core areas: Leadership, Living with Passion and Purpose and Leaving a Legacy.

Neslyn is an executive coach for UK’s NHS Leadership Academy and has broad experience in business psychology and leading health service innovation in the UK. Neslyn has presented to the European Parliament, public and private sector organisations and various charities on leadership development, emotional intelligence and creating and sustaining high performing teams.

Her Unique Business System: The Leaders’ Code™ is used in corporate organisations to; change organisational culture, demonstrate courage, develop creativity, challenge issues and care about people.

With 25+ years Board Level experience as a Non-Executive Director inclusive of 10+ years as a Chairman, she brings that experience to bear on her coaching with awareness, empathy and an understanding of relationships at executive and corporate levels within organisations. While also using her Board Level knowledge and experience to coach aspiring directors in preparation for job interviews and stabilisation in their early years as a Director or Chief Executive.

Neslyn is also committed to supporting and nurturing the talents of young people. She has written several books designed to help young people to acknowledge their talent and stay out of gang culture.

In 2017, Neslyn was included in the Best 100 Global Coaching Leaders and was also an award winner of Women of the Decade in Community Leadership and Social Change from the All Ladies League and Women Economic Forum. She has also been honoured three times by the Queen for her dedication to the personal and leadership development of others.

Hashi Mohamed

Hashi Mohamed is one of the UK’s leading junior barristers in planning and public law. He was Special Adviser to David Anderson QC, the Independent Reviewer or Terror Legislation (2015-2017). He also practises in environmental, human rights law and commercial litigation.

One of 12 children, Hashi’s father died when he was 9. Soon after Hashi came to the UK as an unaccompanied child refugee from Kenya in the summer of 1993. When he arrived he spoke basic English, attended failing schools and was raised exclusively on state benefits in a deprived area of North West London.

Today, at 33, as a barrister and broadcaster, Hashi has attended both Oxford University and Bar school on a full scholarship. He is also a presenter on BBC Radio 4 and commentator across leading newspapers. Drawing on his own experiences he wants to dispel the myth that upward mobility is possible through sheer hard work alone and speaks out against empty tokenism.

Hashi’s speaking style is at once realistic and inspirational and he is not afraid to talk about hard truths. From refugee to barrister, he uses his personal journey to draw powerful conclusions for business – about resilience, focus and the ability to adapt in the pursuit of success. Whether he is talking to CEOs of big corporations, judges, politicians or underprivileged pupils – he creates an immediate and powerful connection with people. As a broadcaster his work has been highly acclaimed including BBC Radio 4’s ‘Adventures in Social Mobility’ and his viral Guardian Opinion piece ‘Telling children “hard work gets you to the top” is simply a lie’.

Hashi is fast becoming a sought after motivational speaker. He also chairs and hosts events and panel discussions in the UK and abroad.